sgbarrell

Hi guys, wanted to share my Healing build with you all. Let me know what you think

So first is the photo from TradeMe(like eBay):

I took her for a quick spin, then promptly stripper her down (Pic 2)

Some of you may have spotted that I cut off and ground all of the cable guides as she's going to be a front brake only, fixed gear... purists look away! (pic 3)

After hours of sanding, the frame and forks are almost completely bare metal(just a few tricky spots to get). I'll post pics once its done and hopefully I'll start priming tomorrow afternoon(weird, futuristic NZ time).

Aaaaand I cant post URLs until I have 10 posts

John E

Why the insistence on front brake only, which admittedly is at least far better than rear brake only? Even with a fixed gear, I would appreciate the redundancy and slightly shorter stopping distance of a dual brake system.

JohnDThompson 

Besides, it gives you another hand position. I know I appreciate having two brakes on my fixed gear bike, especially on century rides. By the end of a hundred miles, my legs are pretty tired and it's nice to spread the braking effort out.

noglider 

When riding a fixed gear, your legs are at least as good as a rear brake, so a front caliper brake suffices to give two brakes. Even when riding with a freewheel, I hardly ever use my rear brake.

Kilroy1988 

I'm with @noglider on this one, but I'm also young and have only been hit by a car once while riding a bicycle (it was not a fixed gear). So maybe I fall into the impetuous category. I almost always stick to just a front brake on my fixed gear rides, and when I do have two set up I virtually never use the rear. If I were to ride a century, as mentioned above, I might think twice, especially for the sake of my knees.

Anyway, I think we're going to scare away this promising member if we keep up like this! Welcome to Bike Forums, where every conversation does not rapidly degenerate to semantics or safety... Stick around. Hope to see how your bike turns out.

-Gregory

sgbarrell

I just read/assumed that with a fixed gear rear brakes weren't really necessary but if it turns out to be preferable then I will definitely throw one on. The stock guides on the frame were not nice so they had to go.

corrado33

I don't understand the desire to permanently damage the frame just so you don't have empty cable guides. It makes no sense to me.

My guess is you won't get much love here for that.

And of COURSE you're converting it to fixed. (Which you'll probably end up riding it as a single speed.) What else would the aspiring hipster do?

"I want my bike to be not practical at all, but at least it'll look cool!"

Lascauxcaveman 

Not my legs. Gimme two brakes, every day, all day long

[MENTION=460724]sgbarrell[/MENTION], yes, welcome to the forums. It's your bike and you do what you want with it. But there are a lot of cranky old guys here (like me) who will give you grief for permanently altering an old bike frame, which they self-righteously deem unnecessary. Technically they are right. Try not to take it personally, we're actually a decent lot here.

Lol, and since the brand name of the bike is "Healing" let us now repeat the Hippocratic Oath: "First, do no harm..."

Wildwood 

Modify & paint to your tastes - it's not a historically significant bike.
In fact, congrats on improving the frame's condition.


I don't ride fixed, but I can't think of a downside to 2 brakes, other than possibly offending an unwritten fixie appearance protocol.

CV-6 

You just proved your second statement. Nice job, there.

It's the OP's bike, it's not a Masi. The guides were in bad shape according to OP. OP is free to do as he/she wishes. At least they are on a bike.

Big Block

This classic/vintage section of "This forum is to discuss the many aspects of classic and vintage bicycles, including musclebikes, lightweights, middleweights, hi-wheelers, bone-shakers, safety bikes and much more."

Many of the comments made to date in this thread have taken a narrow interpretation of the stated aim of this section.


There is a
Singlespeed & Fixed Gear section where readers are guided by "I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailer? We are getting soft...As for me, give me a fixed gear!"-- Henri Desgrange (31 January 1865 - 16 August 1940)

Although, I would hardly think he would have mangled the spelling of derailleur like that set out in the 'quote'.

You may endure less angst in that section.
Across 'the ditch' there was another Healing brand, which was a different organisation to the NZ variety.

My current project is also a fixed gear, 3 speed variety (Sturmey Archer 3 speed fixed). It will be installed on a 1952 Hobbs of Barbican frame that spent its early life travelling local roads to you
It will have two brakes because I am reluctant to use back pressure to slow as the flanges on the body of the Sturmey Archer ASC hub are very thin alloy. I note that traditionally British fixed gear time trial bikes generally did only have a front brake. Have a look through Classic Lightweight's Time Trials 1940's/1950's
So if you wrote that you were rebuilding your bike boom frame to be of the style of a 1940s/50s British Time Trial bike you would be absolutely correct.

sgbarrell

It doesn't need to make sense to you. It's my bike and I'll do with it as I please. I like to customize as much as possible to make the bike my own.

This isn't my first bike, I've been riding/modifying/restoring bikes my whole life. I knew the 'hipster' comment was coming eventually, but didn't think it'd come quite this soon. I don't have a beard.

Thanks for your opinion though, maybe just lighten up a bit.

AlexCyclistRoch

Well, originally a fixed-gear was often a track bike. Track bikes don't have brakes (or anything else, to keep weight to a minimum), but the riders use special gloves where they can grip the tire to brake. Then again, on the track it is assumed that riders know enough not to do something stupid...

Bianchigirll 

Right on a fixed gear track bike brakes are not necessary or allowed but...if your going to take you fixed gear on the street better safe than sorry.

sgbarrell

Thanks for the feedback guys. As I said, I'm definitely going to run a front brake and will decide if I want a rear one after a bit of riding.

Where I live and will be riding is certainly no big city and is fairly flat so I'm not too concerned. I rode brakeless bmx bikes as commuters through my teen years without too much issue but I will see how it goes.

clasher

I like to have both brake levers since I'm used to riding on the hoods. I've seen people hook up the unused brake lever to a bell. I also have bad knees now and braking with legs hurts them so I don't do it. Cable clamps or clamp-on cable stops are a good way to put brakes back on.

sgbarrell

Very understandable. Yeah that's the plan if I decide to run a rear brake. I much prefer the look of the cable clamps to the stock guides.

xiaoman1 

OP, Well said.... it is your bike, it is just a bike and as long as you make it a safe ride do what you please. Enjoy the ride!
Ben

sgbarrell

Cheers, Ben!

sgbarrell

Filled and sanded the rear brake mounting hole. No need to worry, I can easily punch it out later if I change my mind.

sgbarrell

...and here she is after about 5 hours of sanding and wire brushing, as raw as she's going to get... I hung it off a crane cause I'm a super artistic iPhone photographer The forks are done too but they're not sexy.

sgbarrell

Finally, here we are. I've just got done cleaning and priming and this is her current state:

Sorry for the bad quality, lighting in my garage is terrible. I had the main light plus 2 lamps set up to paint.

Also, note the donor/next project in the background. Another Healing 10-Speed I picked up for nothing

Sorry for the dump, I was kinda striving to get 10 posts so I can share URLs (dumb rule?!)

john_mct

Love the clean look and SS/FG bikes are fun for non-hipsters alike, but from what I recall Wellington NZ is one of the hilliest cities I've ever been in, I'd certainly want a rear brake to take some of the stress of slowing down downhill off the legs.

sgbarrell

Agreed! It's only hilly in the city. Where I live it's mostly flat and I'd have to go out of my way to ride hills.

Big Block

Fixed gear bikes were not restricted to the velodromes. Fixed gears were common on general bikes as well as road racing bikes. The common way to slow on a velodrome is to use your body weight on the upstroke of the cranks.
Or at least that is what occurs Down Under.

Nice to see good work being done to repurpose an old frame and give it a new life where it will be used.
What components are going back on the bike?

Any decals?

you might get some inspiration from https://fixedgeargallery.com/